Conventionally, decoratively laminated materials, particularly those having a metal base layer have been produced to simulate the look of wood grain, stone, or other decorative patterns. These laminated materials are useful in many applications for both the interior and exterior of a building if they possess durable, yet lightweight characteristics. These decorative laminate materials generally include a metal backing, an adhesive layer, and a decorative top layer substrate. The laminates were generally produced in one of two ways. First, the metal material could be mechanically scrapped or roughed up using a sander or other similar material or device. The rough surface would help allow the adhesive to bond the metal backing layer to the decorative top substrate.
The second method previously employed to manufacture decorative laminate materials having a metal backing, an adhesive layer, and a decorative top layer substrate involved the use of a chromium solution dip or chromium solution roll-on application to essentially form an extremely fine rough coating on the metal backing layer. This extremely fine rough coating added to the ability of the adhesive to adhere the metal backing to the decorative top layer substrate. Using the brushed method, a bond strength of two pounds per inch as measured by the ASTM 1876 T-peel test was typically achieved, whereas using a dry-in-place chromium solution or dip chromium solution method yielded fours pound per inch bond strength as measured by the ASTM 1876 T-peel test.
In the past, the insufficient bond strength between the metal layer and the top layer of the laminates achieved by these two previously used methods resulted in easy separation of the layers. The insufficient bond strength between the metal layer and the top layer was often exacerbated by temperature degradation or by other environmental conditions. Moreover, laminate materials previously produced were undesirable to the industry because they were not readily bendable and formable to a given contour without the top layer becoming damaged and/or separated from the metal backing substrate layer.
Conventional laminated metals exhibited other disadvantageous characteristics as well. In the past, fabricating a desired shape from the laminated materials after the decorative top was applied would result in a frosted, whitened, stretched, blotchy, discolored, or non-uniform appearance of the laminate material. Metal articles often had to be fabricated into a desired shape before the decorative top layer was applied to avoid degradation of the appearance of the laminate material, significantly adding to the cost and difficulty of the lamination process.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for a cost effective, efficient, bendable, and formable laminate material with enhanced adhesive properties that would avoid the degradation in appearance of the top layer of the composite produced by earlier processes and the burden of the fabrication of a laminate material into a desired shape prior to application of the decorative top layer.
The present invention generally relates to a method of producing an improved laminate material that has flexible and formable characteristics and the flexible, formable laminate material produced thereby.